Quarterback Braxton Miller said he watched parts of several games on Saturday when Ohio State was off, including “the team up north against Penn State” — a four-overtime loss by Michigan — and No. 1 Alabama’s victory over Kentucky.

With the latter in mind, the junior was asked yesterday if he thought about how the Buckeyes would match up against the Crimson Tide should they meet in the national championship game.

“I do,” Miller said. “If it gets to that point in the future, it would be a good game, a good matchup.”

But he said the Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) are taking the season week by week. That’s especially true for him, considering he didn’t get to play in almost three full games early because of a knee injury, which now has become almost an afterthought.

“Sometimes it will ache a little bit in the back,” Miller said, “but other than that, it’s pretty good.”

He has concentrated more lately on his hands. In Ohio State’s last game, a victory over Northwestern on Oct. 5, Miller lost two fumbles. He said he has spent plenty of time working on securing the ball since then.

“Watching film on it, I really wasn’t holding the ball correctly throughout the cuts, throughout the holes,” Miller said. “I wasn’t holding the ball real tight. It’s an easy fix.”

To emphasize it, he said the coaches had him hold a football properly throughout the past several practices, even “had me hold a ball throughout the whole stretch” periods before practice.

Ball security will be key on Saturday against Iowa. The Hawkeyes (4-2, 1-1) have a “pretty good defense, probably the best we’ve faced so far,” Miller said.

Big Ten opponents

The Big Ten released the conference schedules for 2018 and ’19, with the Buckeyes playing five home conference games in ’18 and four the next year.

The Big Ten, which adds Rutgers and Maryland next year to move to 14 teams, will go to nine-game conference schedules in 2016, with the seven members of the newly formed East and West divisions playing one another within their division, plus three crossover games.

In 2018, the Buckeyes will have home games with Rutgers, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska and Michigan, and road games against Penn State, Purdue, Michigan State and Maryland. In 2019, they will play host to Michigan State, Wisconsin, Maryland and Penn State, and play at Indiana, Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers and Michigan.